Overview
John L. Molinelli, served as Bergen County Prosecutor from 2002 to 2016, overseeing a $32 million dollar budget with a staff of 275 people, including both law enforcement and nonlaw enforcement unions, and with general oversight over seventy-three local and county police agencies in a densely populated county of over 900,000 residents. As a Partner with Price, Meese, Shulman & D’Arminio, P.C. of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, Mr. Molinelli specializes in Complex Commercial Litigation, Affordable Housing and Real Estate Development and Litigation, Government matters, including labor relations, OPRA, and employment litigation or as hearing officer with particular emphasis on matters of law enforcement and public safety. He also concentrates on general labor and logistical issues, internal investigations and management controls, and private-sector corporate compliance.
He is a former President of the New Jersey State County Prosecutors Association and a recipient of the Above and Beyond Award for Defense of the Guard (2013); Friend of Education Award from the Bergen County Education Association (2015); Distinguished Alumni Award from the Catholic Archdiocese of Newark (2009); Wood-Ridge Hall of Fame Memorial Foundation (2007); Italian American Police Society Man of the Year (2006) and Top Gun Award and the Distinguished Service Award from the New Jersey State Law Enforcement Officers Association in 2006.
Prior to his service as Prosecutor, Mr. Molinelli spent many years in the private practice so he offers clients significant experience levels from both the public and private sector. He graduated from Rutgers University in 1979 with a B.A. degree, and received his law degree, cum laude, from New York Law School, in 1982. In 1991, he received his Diplomate in Municipal Law from Rutgers University, Bureau of Government Research. He is the former President of the Bergen County Bar Association (2005), and former division Chairman of the District IIB Attorney Fee Arbitration Ethics Committee. In 2001, he was named as a Member of the New Jersey State Bar Association Standing Committee on Election Law. Mr. Molinelli has served on many New Jersey Supreme Court Committees, including the Committee on Electronic Discovery in the Criminal Courts (2010-2012), the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on the Rules of Evidence (2002-2007), New Jersey Supreme Court Municipal Court Practice Committee (2008-2015); Supreme Court Committee on Model Criminal Jury Charges, Member of the Special Supreme Court Working Group Committee on Digital Evidence (2013) and a Member of the Super Bowl XLVIII Law Enforcement Steering Committee. He is a member of the Bars of the State of New Jersey and New York, United States District Courts for the Districts of New Jersey and the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, as well as the United States Supreme Court.